DOHA (AFP) -- UN cultural
agency UNESCO on Friday granted endangered World Heritage status to
ancient terraces in the West Bank that are under threat from the Israeli
separation barrier.

After an emergency nomination by Palestinian
officials, UNESCO's annual World Heritage Committee gathering in Doha
voted to grant the protected status to the agricultural community of
Battir, which straddles the Green Line just south of Jerusalem and where
Israel plans to erect part of its separation wall.

The granting
of the status is likely to boost the efforts of local residents locked
in a high-profile court battle to change the route of the barrier.

"The
site is inscribed, congratulations to Palestine," committee chairwoman
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said after the
resolution was narrowly approved, against the recommendations of UNESCO
experts.

The Palestinian delegation rejoiced at the vote, hugging and cheering.

Battir is famous for its ancient terraces and Roman-era irrigation system which is still used by villagers for their crops.

But
the village has come under threat from Israeli plans to erect part of
the West Bank separation barrier there, which experts say will
irretrievably damage the water system.

The Palestinians won
membership in UNESCO in October 2011 and quickly moved to submit a
number of sites for recognition, including an emergency application for
Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity which was approved in June the
following year, despite Israeli objections.

RAMALLAH: The United Nations cultural agency has listed the Palestinian
village of Battir as a World Heritage site in danger, raising hopes
among residents on Saturday that this will protect their community
against Israel’s West Bank separation barrier.

Battir, located
just south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, is known for its
ancient farming terraces and an irrigation system from Roman times. In
listing Battir on Friday, Unesco said the village faces “irreversible
damage,” citing “the start of construction of a separation wall that may
isolate farmers from fields they have cultivated for centuries.”

Israel
began building a separation barrier in the West Bank more than a decade
ago, saying it’s meant to keep out Palestinian fighters.

The Palestinians say the barrier has turned out to be a land grab because it slices off almost 10 per cent of the West Bank.

The route of the barrier in the Battir area is before Israel’s Supreme Court.

The
lawyer representing village residents, Ghiath Nasser, said Saturday he
hopes that the Unesco recognition will help sway the judges to rule in
favor of them.

Friends of the Earth Middle East, an
Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian group that joined the high court appeal
against the barrier, said Israel needs to find another solution in this
part of the West Bank. The Israeli military “failed to strike the needed
balance between the interest of security and cultural heritage
preservation,” said Gidon Bromberg, a member of the group.

Arbil Citadel

Meanwhile,
the Arbil Citadel that dominates the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan was
granted World Heritage Site status on Saturday in a move praised as a
rare “note of optimism” amid the country’s violence.

Delegates
at Unesco’s World Heritage Committee voted to grant the coveted status
at a gathering in Doha, where they are considering some 40 cultural and
natural wonders for inclusion on the UN list.

A member of the
Iraqi delegation praised the inclusion as “a gift you have made to my
people and all the communities of Iraq... who are in such need of a note
of optimism right now.”

The Arbil Citadel is a formerly
fortified occupied mound in the centre of Erbil that is among the oldest
continuously inhabited sites in the world, dating back at least 6,000
years.